Connections
by Clove the Pegasis
Summary: When Hermione and Harry learn of a secret, they realize that they have a connection, are faced with a confusing quest, and learn of a past that threatens them all.*** (NO Harmione)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1.

My name is Hermione Jean Granger. I am a muggle-born witch at Hogwarts. My best friends are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. I am 16 years old. I am in my 6th year at Hogwarts. If I had to sum myself up in fewer than 10 words, I would say: Harry and Ron's sister; the brains.

Well, I don't know that I would say sister. Not to Ron. Ron is special…

Tomorrow dawns my first day of 6th year. I honestly can't wait. All summer I've skimmed all my books for this semester, and am pretty certain that any first day pop quizzes are in the bag. I happen to know that neither Harry nor Ron have even peeked at books in their trunks, buried what may as well be miles of Quidditch whatevers.

I woke up this morning in Ginny's room at the Burrow, with a skull-splitting headache. It was peculiar, I felt as though someone were seriously trying to break open my cranium with a crowbar from within my head. I couldn't hear properly either. Oh well, it's gone. If it comes back I have some Aspirin that my parents made sure I packed.

I went downstairs to find that I was, per usual, the only one up yet, aside from Mrs. Weasley, who was out feeding the chickens. I opened up my trunk to do my last and 5th check to see that all the necessities were accounted for. They were. Crookshanks pranced in to the kitchen and mewed. He's the sweetest kitty I've ever met! I was sitting on the sofa and petting my darling kitkat, when suddenly I heard something. I set Crookshanks down and stood up, walking to the window. In the sky there was a large crashing… item… I had no idea what on Earth it was, but then it disappeared! I ran out to find Mrs. Weasley to ask if she knew what happened.  
"Mrs. Weasley! Did you see tha-that thing?"

"Oh good morning, dear! What do you mean?"

"It was just there!" I pointed out above the swamp. "It just disappeared, but it was falling, and I must be seeing things… Are you quite sure you didn't even hear it? It was very loud," I asked nervously.

"Sorry, dear, I didn't hear or see any falling objects this morning," she said calmly.

"Ok, sorry, Mrs. Weasley,"

I walked away hesitantly. When I got back inside to the kitchen, Harry was lugging his trunk down the rickety stairs. He seemed confused and looked at me.  
"Did you, I don't know, hear, or see anything odd this morning?" he asked.

"Yes! I did! Mrs. Weasley must think I'm going mad, but yes, I did see something falling and making a booming noise!" I said with relief.

"Ron's comin down in a sec, we can see if he saw or heard it," Harry noted.

Just then, Ron came stumbling down the stairway, looking half asleep. "Ron, did you hear or see anything odd this morning?" Harry asked.

"Nah, I woke up hours ago though, couldn't go back to sleep," Ron mumbled.

"Are you sure, you heard nothing?" I asked.

"Nope, nothing."  
Ron sat down and served himself some bacon that Mrs. Weasley had made early in the morning. "So, 6th year. Crazy, right?" He said.

"Insane… It'll be good to see everybody again," said Harry.

For the rest of breakfast, we sat in silence, each of us thinking through what we learned in our past years that we might need to carry over for this year. Well, I guess that was probably just me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By 9 o'clock in the morning, Harry, Ron, Ginny, more than enough Order members, and I were off to King's Cross. We said our goodbyes, hugged our hugs, and hopped on board. Harry seemed a bit lost in thought. It must be what we saw last week at Diagon alley…

We had just left Fred and George's joke shop when we saw Draco and his mum heading down Knockturn Alley. Harry, being the impulsive boy he is, made us all run after them. I don't see why this was necessary given what we knew at the time, but now, I couldn't be gladder that we did. We crept after the Malfoys until we arrived at Borgin and Burke's. They walked in, and we followed under the invisibility cloak. It really doesn't work for all three of us anymore. But our feet went unnoticed as we stalked after them. Once inside, Harry nudged our little cluster over into a corner. The Malfoys were talking to Borgin, the storekeeper, and seemed to be arguing or maybe just haggling. Harry and I watched as Mrs. Malfoy pointed toward a tall cabinet, while Ronald stood with his back to us looking at artifacts on the dusty table. Suddenly, Ron screamed causing me to put out a little squeak as well. On top of Ronald's cinnamon hair sat a large, fat, black widow spider. The scream did not go unnoticed to the Malfoys, who turned around in shock as we scampered off to separate hiding places. Harry dodged under a table with a table cloth, Ron, still under the invisibility cloak swatted the spider off his head and ran away, climbing into a tall, wooden cabinet with intricate designs and closing the panel. I hid in a doorway to some storage room, I would guess. I didn't dare take a breath for 30 seconds and stood frozen in fear as Draco peered around. I don't think they saw us, but they seemed a bit cautious moving with the shopkeeper over to the tall cabinet. My heart was beating so hard that I could hear it pounding and I watched as Draco opened the cabinet, to find it seemingly empty. I looked at Harry. Harry looked at me. I didn't know what to do, so I stepped out of my hiding place, picked up a small glass cube and said, "Excuse me sir, what does this do?"

The shopkeeper, shocked by my appearance and my reckless handling of what was probably a cursed artifact of some sort, screamed, "PUT THAT DOWN, ARE YOU MAD?!"

I squeaked and dropped the cube. It broke into 2 sharp-edged pieces. But something had fallen out of its center. There was a small hole in the pieces that would allow the fallen something inside the artifact. The Malfoys watched, nervous and angry, while quickly walking out as I picked it up saying, "Oh sir, I'm so so sorry! I can repair it, pay for it, whatever, what did it cost?"

"It can't be fixed, girl! 20 galleons, but you'll pay 25 for sneaking around and for disrupting my business with some of my richest, and best clients. "

"_25 galleons?!_ I can't even pay a tenth of that!"

"Then you'll work it off or be the subject of my potion testing!" Borgin screeched.

I glanced toward where Harry was hidden, and he nodded at me.

"OK, fine. How long? Hogwarts starts in a week," I said reluctantly.

Borgin walked closer to me with a sneer on his face.

"Then maybe you'll have to pay for it in more that just galleons and work."

At that moment, I opened my eyes wide, and I started. I ran out the door and round the corner and through the dirty, dark streets, ducking back into the sun of Diagon Alley. I turned around and didn't see him coming after me, so I stumbled down toward Florean Fortiscue's and caught my breath while looking around for a familiar face. I noticed Hagrid exiting the Apothecary! Thank goodness! I sprinted over to him.

"Hagrid, help! Harry and Ron are stuck in Borgin and Burke's hiding and the Malfoys were there and they were going to find Ron so I made a diversion and I broke something and now Borgin wants me to pay for it in some sick way that I don't want to talk about and he might come for me and what about Harry and Ron and what am I going to do, what should I do?!" I rambled, breathing heavily.

"Woah, 'mione. Calm down. I'll go get Harry and Ron, then we can worry about the rest." He said in his rumbling voice.

"Thank you, Hagrid…"

I walked back to a plastic chair and tapped my foot nervously until I saw Hagrid walking toward me with Harry and Ron.

"Thank goodness!" I hugged them. "Now what?"

"Hermione, when you broke that… thing, something fell out. On the way out I grabbed it." Harry said slowly.

"Ok, so what is it?" Ron asked in his usual blunt, ignorant, yet adorably confused way.

Harry held out his hand, and in his palm lay a tiny paper cube. I reached out and picked it up. I turned it over in my fingers and realized that this was origami. This was made out of sheets of paper. _Maybe_, I thought, _there's some explanation if we unfold it?_

Carefully, I pulled the tiny box apart with my finger nails and when I had it flattened in my hand, a message became clear.

**Thank you so much guys, I'm having a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoy it too!**

**Review! That'd be really nice, to see what you think, and if you have any guesses or ideas!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What does that mean?" whispered Harry.

On the palm of my hand lay the piece of paper with _**HSB2**_ written in scrolling calligraphy.

"Maybe it's a code?" I said.

Ron looked at Harry.

"It could be a location, maybe, in the Department of Mysteries?" he commented.

He shrugged and looked back at the paper.

"It just reminds me of last year when you were lookin for the row 97 or whatever in the Department of Mysteries for Sirius," he told Harry.

"That's possible, but I don't know, it just feels like an acronym or something," I said, without taking my eyes off the mysterious writing.

"Let's just hide it and worry about it when we're not in the middle of Diagon Alley," Harry suggested.

I nodded and put it in a small pocket in my jumper.

When we got back to the Burrow, shopping bags, books, and robes in hand, Mrs. Weasley started making supper, and Ron, Harry, and I went upstairs to the boys' bedroom. I pulled the piece of paper from my pocket.

"Now then, let's take another…" I hesitated as I saw the note,"look?"

On the paper, instead of _**HSB2**_, it said _**HOSB2**_.

"What?!" Ron exclaimed, snatching it from my hand and taking a look himself.

Harry walked around behind Ron and peered from over his shoulder.

"Ok, so maybe whoever wrote this note is giving a hint?" he suggested.

"Why would they do that?" I asked.

"They might not care who has that note, just that someone has it, and needs to find, or learn, or hear, or Merlin knows what. Just something."

"Okay, that's an idea," I said softly, sitting on a cot, thinking.

Just then, Mrs. Weasley called up that it was time for supper, and the three of us went down for chicken and potato pies and brussel sprouts with bacon. Mr. Weasley came in and sat down to eat with us, and as he pulled in his chair, I heard something. A really loud popping, like the kind that people can make with their mouths, but it was far louder than anyone I've ever heard. I looked to the fire, and saw that it was not lit, nor was there any food cooking. I looked around the table. Harry was looking around too. We met eyes. After a second of inquisitive looks and silent conversation with our eyes, Harry spoke up.

"Did anyone else hear that?"

"Hear what, Harry?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"A sort of loud popping noise."

"Well, no, but maybe I just missed it," said Arthur cheerfully.

"You wouldn't have missed it," I piped up.

Everyone at the table looked at me and Harry.

"Sorry dears, but I really didn't hear a thing…" Mrs. Weasley said.

After dinner, I pulled Harry aside and whispered, "You did hear that pop, right? It was very loud, but like a tongue popping, right?"

"Yeah…" he muttered. "I don't know what to think of it, or why only we heard it."

I shrugged and walked back to talk to Ron about Pigwidgeon or something of little to no importance.

I honestly can't say why I like him so much. He's just so honest and sweet, and much more intelligent than people give him credit. Sure, he gets rather lazy with his homework and classes, but not everyone learns in the same way. I'm certain that he has strengths in other areas, like being extremely cute and always knowing just when to say something sincere and nice to me.

Harry tugged on my arm and pulled Ron and I upstairs to their room again. When we got inside, I locked the door. I pulled out the paper again. Yet again, the note had changed. It now said _**HOGSB2**_.

"Hogs be too!" Ron exclaimed.

Harry gave him a questioning look and Ron deflated again.

"Maybe it's starting to spell a word," I said. "A word starting with HOG."

"How many words of magical importance start with HOG? All I can think of is the Hog's Head, Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts, all of which are locations, so maybe, Ron, you were right," said Harry with a touch of awe and surprise.

"Wow, great job, guys!" I said. "Now, if you don't mind, it's been a long day, and I think I'll go off to bed now."

"Night, 'mione," said Harry and Ron.

I walked out of their bedroom and went into Ginny's.

"Hiya, Ginny," I said tiredly to Ginny, who was in her pajamas, brushing her wavy, red hair.

"Hey, Hermione… Do you think Harry will ever like me? Maybe I should ask him."

"I wouldn't do that, Ginny. I don't know if he likes you, but if he doesn't or even if he does and just won't admit it, you could ruin the relationship you have, and you'll never have a chance."

"M'kay… Have you considered asking Ron?"

"What do you mean?" I said, a little flustered.

Ginny climed onto her bed. "Oh come on, it's really obvious that you like him."

"Really? Do you think he knows?" I asked.

"I seriously doubt it, boy's are oblivious. I've only liked Harry for 4 or 5 years now, and he still hasn't noticed me," said Ginny a little bitterly.

"Be patient, Harry just isn't sure if he's over Cho. He'll realize what a good friend, how pretty, how smart, and how purely amazing you are, Gin."

"I don't know what he sees in Cho. At all. She's a total crybaby. Harry needs someone tougher. Stronger. Who can tell him realistically if he's being a git. But really?" she said softly.

"Really."

"Night, then… and Hermione?"

"Yeah?"

"I sorta overheard about the whole paper thing."

"What?! Fine, whatever, just don't say anything to anyone else."

I pulled it out of my pocket to find that the next letter was added on. _**HOGWSB2**_. I knew what this meant. Something, some clue, or object, or rune, or sign, or some something was hidden, waiting for them, at Hogwarts. I tucked it into my favorite chapter of Hogwarts, A History. I could research tomorrow.

Ginny turned of the lamp.

"I promise, I won't tell," she said with a yawn.

"Night, Ginny."

**Hey lovely readers! Remember to review, it really helps when I know what you like and don't like, what you want, and all that jazz. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next days at the Burrow passed without much excitement, unless you call Ron accidentally throwing a garden gnome at Harry exciting. The return to Hogwarts was only a day away, and the three of us hadn't gotten any closer to finding out what the note meant. However, the rest of the letters of the first word did appear, and in the end, as I guessed, the paper read: _**HOGWARTSSB2**_.

I was sitting with Ron talking about Quidditch or something. He was explaining why the Chudley Cannons were so underappreciated, and I was nodding while flirting and internally yawning. For 1st time since the original popping noise, I heard a strange sound, manmade, but unnaturally loud. This time it was the noise of someone clicking their tongue. I immediately excused myself and ran to find Harry, to see if he also heard it, like the 1st time. He was sitting, tapping his leg with his phoenix feather cored wand, on his cot, looking around.

"Harry. Again," I said nervously.

"Yeah..." he looked at me. "The first chance we get, we have to tell Dumbledore about this. He'll know what's going on."

I nodded and went back downstairs.

In the boys' room, I was reading while a particularly barbaric round of wizard's chess unfolded on a homemade board with painted rocks. I spoke up.

"Look, we go back to Hogwarts tomorrow, and we happen to know that there is some sort of secret there that someone wants us to figure out…for some reason," I said.

Ron played a move, said checkmate, and Harry cleared the board with his arm, looking frustrated.

"I agree, we have to come up with some sort of idea or plan or something about what this all means," Harry said.

Ron looked at me. "Can I see it again?" he asked.

I pulled it out of Hogwarts a History and handed it to him.

"Ok, so Hogwarts S B 2. What could that mean?" he mumbled.

"Maybe the S and B go together and are the first letters of some area or thing at Hogwarts," I said, a little desperately.

"School board, Slytherin bathroom, Slytherin boy, Slytherin bedroom, school breakfast, Slytherin blanket, serious breakfast… Sirius Black! Maybe it has to do with Sirius?" Harry said.

"Harry, Sirius is dead, and anything that he had, you have now," I said quietly.

Suddenly Ron commented,"Slytherin boy? That option's a bit different. Maybe Draco has it."

"Ok this is a big step in the right direction," I said. "Now we have some ideas. It could be Slytherin related, school board related, or Sirius related. That's narrowing things down quite a lot! The one thing that doesn't make sense to me is that if it is Sirius, Sirius hasn't been to Hogwarts for more than a couple of hours, in decades."

I put the note back into Hogwarts a History and walked toward the door.

"I'm going to go finish my packing. I assume you two will just do it in a jumble tomorrow?"

They looked at me.

"Thought so."

I walked out the door, then remembered something and stuck my head back into the doorway.

"Just so you know, Ginny figured out about the whole note thing, but she won't tell."

I heard grumbling as I walked away.

* * *

I faded out of the memory and brought my thoughts back to the present. I was on the train to Hogwarts. Harry looked lost in thought, probably thinking about the note or the strange noises we've been hearing. **(A/N: if you're confused, refer to the 2****nd**** chapter's beginning) **

I was about to take out the note just to check that another word hadn't started to spell out, but just then Neville, Luna, and Ginny walked in arguing over who they thought would be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"Probably someone even more boring and old than Binns," said Ginny.

"I don't think that's possible!" Neville commented.

Luna piped up, "Why would you assume that they'd be boring or old? None of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers we've had so far has been either, if you think about it…"

Everyone got quiet and mentally went through the list. _Quirrell, Lockhart, Remus, Barty Crouch Jr. hiding as Mad Eye Moody, Umbridge… _I thought. No, none of these teachers was dull in the slightest. Umbridge may have had boring classes, but she was so evil that I never found her to be forgettable.

I moved over and made room for Luna and Neville to sit with me, while Ginny awkwardly sat down with Harry and Ron.

Ginny gave me a pointed look and nodded her head to Neville and Luna. I asked if she wanted to come and get changed into our robes. She nodded and we went out of the car.

"Okay, are you going to tell Neville and Luna?" Ginny asked me.

"Why should I? The fewer people who know the lower the risk of someone telling!" I said.

"You really think Neville or Luna would tell anyone? And why? Because unless you forgot, we're Dumbledore's Army, or is that over already?"

"How should I know, it's up to Harry," I answered. "I trust Luna and Neville, but… I don't know."

"Well, how about this, I think its crummy that you're going to make all of us lie to our friends for as long as it takes to figure this out, just because you _sorta_ don't feel like bothering to tell them. I guess you wouldn't have told me anything or brought me into the team for this if I didn't already know. Didn't we prove ourselves in the Department of Mysteries? They'll find out eventually and they'll be hurt that we didn't trust them enough to be in on it!" Ginny argued.

"We can ask Harry and Ron what they think later," I said stubbornly.

We went and got changed into our Gryffindor robes without speaking.

The Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogwarts just as I started getting really hungry and I couldn't wait to jump on a carriage and go up to the feast. I walked over to a self-drawn carriage and hopped aboard. Neville, Luna, and Ginny were caught up speaking to Susan Bones so I motioned for Harry and Ron to hurry so we could be alone. They jogged over and Ron joined me in the carriage while Harry stood, fixated on some point in space in front of the carriage.

"The… horses? The carriages are being pulled by horses this year…" He said quietly.

"What do you mean? The carriages pull themselves, just like every year. Now come on, we need to talk privately." I pulled him aboard.

The cart moved up the hill to the castle and I said, "So, Ginny thinks we need to let Neville and Luna in on the whole note thing. I'm not so sure, but this also raises the question of whether or not DA is still going on."

Ron looked at Harry. "Neville and Luna are our friends, and they have a right to know what we're doing. They saved our lives a dozen times last year. I'd feel better about this creepy self-writing note deal if they knew what was going on. "

"DA was so that we could keep learning when we didn't have a proper Defense teacher. We don't know who we'll have this year. Let's wait and see who it is. If we have a good teacher, then DA is over and we can choose if we want to tell Luna and Neville. If we have a good-for-nothing teacher again, DA is still around and we have to tell Luna and Neville," said Harry.

I nodded. I was secretly hoping that DA could continue. It had been so exhilarating to be meeting with our friends, rebelling, learning, and training behind Umbridge's fluffy, pink, back.

The carriage reached the castle and we climbed out, walking to the feast and walking back into Hogwarts, our home.

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	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Harry, Ron, and I sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. We all looked up at the teachers' table. There was one new face, belonging to a short, plump, wrinkly man with slightly bulging eyes_. Ginny was right. Old and dull._ I thought to myself. I turned to Harry and Ron.

"So I guess he's the Defense teacher. I don't know what_ you _think, but he doesn't look too experienced to me," I said haughtily. "DA back on, then?"

"Look Hermione, I would love to keep up DA, too, but without a good reason for it, I'm not sure I feel like putting aside the time. We haven't heard a word from him, so for all we know he could be more experienced even than Lockhart pretended to be," said Harry in what I thought was an annoyingly self-righteous tone.

"Well what about Voldemort? He's out there, murdering muggles as we speak, so shouldn't we be trained to defend ourselves from him?" asked Ron.

"Yeah, and ideally that's was that guy…" Harry pointed at the stout old man at the teacher's table, "will teach us to do."

Ron and I met each other's gaze and I gave him a sad smile. Dumbledore stepped up to his owl podium and Professor McGonagall tapped her goblet with a golden spoon, quieting the hall.

"Welcome students, back to another year at Hogwarts," Dumbledore began. "This year, even more than any year before, it is of utmost importance that cooperation among houses is reached. Each house possesses unique qualities and strengths, ways of thinking and ideals. Together, these houses can form an inseparable, unconquerable team of witches and wizards, stong enough to take on even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, if it ever, heavens forbid, should come to that. As you all know, I am sure, Voldemort _has_ returned and he and his Death Eaters threaten our morals, our world, and our way of life. He, and many other wizards like him, are under the impression that some wizards and witches are of lesser importance due to their heritage. I beg of you, to think before you call a peer offensive words, or even consider mistreating another human being because of their "blood status". I have known thousands of students in my years, and never have I noticed any foundation for this prejudice and hatred, however, I am not able to control Voldemort's actions and the fear he spreads. Listen, do not fall for his schemes and methods of controlling you. He is both persuasive and powerful, yes, but Hogwarts, as one, is far, far stronger. "

The Great Hall was silent for a moment. Then there was a smattering of nervous applause.

"We have one new professor among us! May I introduce Professor Horace Slughorn, who will be teaching Potions class, which will no longer be taught by Professor Severus Snape, as he will be taking over as the professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Ron groaned. I looked at Harry, and he looked perhaps more angry than I've ever seen him, excluding when Bellatrix killed Sirius. Harry ran after her attempting to cast upon her the Cruciatus curse.

"Our caretaker Filch, as usual, has asked me to remind you that the Dark Forest is strictly out of bounds, and due to the current position our world is in, I also have set a curfew, at which time you must be in your house common room, of 7:46. Thank you."

A new batch of fresh faced first years were marched in and sorted alphabetically, while Ron, Harry, and I sat thinking about Snape taking over our favorite class.

The first years were all seated and with a wave, Dumbledore summoned the feast. Thank goodness!

The next morning, well rested and thrilled to start classes, I came down into the common room to meet Harry and Ron. We went down to breakfast together, and once seated, pulled out our new schedules.

"Ooh! We have potions today! We get to meet that new professor! Professor Slughorn, right? " I said excitedly.

"Yup, think so. After lunch we have double Defense Against the Dark Arts… That should be interesting," Ron commented.

Harry sulkily ate a piece of toast as Ron and I chatted about the earlier, new curfew, eating eggs.

I turned to Harry and said, "We still have to talk to Dumbledore about the whole hearing things deal, you know?"

He nodded and answered, "Maybe tonight."

When we finished our breakfast we went down to the dungeons for our first Potions class with a teacher other than Snape. Upon entering the classroom, Professor Slughorn greeted us at the door and seeing Harry, opened his bug-like eyes wide with a smile and he shook Harry's hand. He said, "You know, I taught your mother and father years ago, both excellent people, but I must say, Lily was the superior student. One of my favorites, actually… Well, have a seat, now!"

Once the whole class had entered and had been seated, the plump man introduced himself.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! I am Professor Slughorn, I taught here some time ago, but retired. Dumbledore pulled me out of my peaceful- well, not really- retirement though, and here I am!"

He jumped right into our first lesson and told us to start on making a Cure for Boils, relatively simple, to get warmed up for the coming NEWT level potions to come. I was so happy to be back into my studies again, that I didn't even mind Ron copying whatever I did to make the potion.

That afternoon I headed to Defense Against the Dark Arts from Arithmancy alone, since Harry and Ron were coming from a free period. Arithmancy has always been a favorite class with Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration. It's an interesting class, what with the numerology and all. Maths was always rather easy and fun for me in muggle school, and Arithmancy is the closest thing to it, offered at Hogwarts.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts I sat down next to Parvati and a moment later Professor Snape descended the stone stairs from his new office. He looked just as pale and greasy haired as usual with his classic black robes that were a constant reminder, at least to me, that he wasn't entirely on our side. The right, light side. I sat there as he headed to the front of the class pondering what could make a man go to Voldemort's side. What appeal does he see? Does Dumbledore trust him, really? Should he?

"Take notes," said the grim professor as he pulled down a map of the world, labeled with different dark creatures, species, and races around the Earth. _This is an interesting perspective, _I thought. Snape explained the syllabus for the year by pointing around the map and commenting on different needs for different spells and tactics of protecting one's self from dangerous people and creatures.

I left the class with Ron and Harry feeling excited for the fascinating topics we were going to learn, yet a bit disappointed, as Dumbledore's Army was not really necessary anymore. _But_ _it wouldn't need to be a secret, even. Dumbledore probably wouldn't mind us practicing spells together in the Room of Requirement… _I thought.

"Harry, let's go to Dumbledore now," I said.

"Why?" asked Ron.

"We felt that our hearing the noises you don't hear might be… of consequence. We just think we should tell someone," I explained.

Ron looked a bit surprised but nodded and walked off to supper in the Great Hall.

Harry and I stood outside the stone griffin.

"How do we get inside?" I asked.

"I… I'm not sure. We could just wait. Or knock? I guess?" Harry said with uncertainty.

Luckily Dumbledore himself came along, going to his office as well.

"Ah, Harry, Hermione! You are looking for me?" he said cheerfully.

"Um, yes professor. We just want to discuss something with you," Harry said.

"Cockroach clusters," said Dumbledore, and the griffin turned revealing a spiral staircase to the headmaster's office.

Harry and I followed him up the stairs and through heavy, wooden doors. We sat across from Professor Dumbledore at his desk. I had never been in his office, but I found it to be very interesting, full of at least 10 tall bookcases, tools of astronomy, and other magical or ancient artifacts.

"Now, what did you need to tell me?" asked the wise old man while he took off his half-moon glasses to wipe them on a handkerchief he produced from his dark blue robes.

Harry and I looked at each other. Harry gave me an encouraging smile, and I spoke up.

"Professor, Harry and I have been hearing some n-noises… It's happened… two times now… Twice at the Burrow, but another time, Harry and I saw something falling, in the sky, and heard a booming noise only we could hear."

"The two other times, the noises we heard sounded sorta… hu-human made. Sort of. Like really amplified sounds that someone made with their tongue or mouth or something…" Harry added.

Dumbledore sat for a second unmoving. Then he hesitantly stood up and walked up a short set of stairs to another level of his office where he gingerly picked up a small letter from a small, gold table. He walked back to us and sat at his desk again. He held out the letter and told us to read it sometime when we were sure we were alone. Harry took it and put it in his bag.

"Harry, Voldemort wants you dead. You know why. You know of the prophecy," Dumbledore said.

Harry nodded.

"There is a reason you hear these sounds, and there is also a reason only you two can hear them. Miss Granger, this letter contains information that may… change your life. For the better or worse, I am not sure."

"Sir, if it's about Voldemort, I'm sure he will want me dead after reading the letter just as much as he does now, for the obvious reason that he knows how close Harry and I are. "

"That is true, however there is more to this than you currently know. Harry, you will want read this as well. Now, you are dismissed. Remember. Do not show this letter to even Ron for now. Perhaps at some time, but not yet."

Harry and I thanked him and left his office to meet Ron at supper.

I was excited, curious, and scared to read the letter.

_How can reading a letter change my life?_

**Thanks for reading! Review! It's awesome to hear if you like it, or if you have suggestions, or ideas, or comments, or guesses. I love you all so so much for sticking with my story and for all the follows and favorites! Hope you enjoyed it!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

It had been two days since I received the letter from Dumbledore. It was Saturday. I hadn't read it. I don't understand. I'm Hermione Granger. I always want to know. Anything! Any secret, any factoid… But I couldn't bring myself to open the letter and read that information that may change my life. I guess I was just afraid that it could ruin some delicate balance in my existence with my two best friends, my status at the top of every class, or my family… I don't know. But after two days of coming close to opening it and then not being able to bring myself to do it, Harry stepped in.

"Hermione, you don't have to read it if you don't want to, but don't torture yourself by keeping it in your hand everyday for constant confliction and whatever's keeping you from reading it or maybe just putting it away for a while," He said.

"I don't know what I want to do with it. I feel like I need to read it, but I'm scared, Harry," I said quietly.

"How about I read it. I can tell you if you should read it or not and maybe give you a bit of an idea of what it says."

Something about Harry getting to read _my_ letter. Him knowing more about _my_ life than me, disgusted me and I ripped it out of my bag. I tore open the seal and slowly pulled out a small, yellowed note. Harry smiled at me and I walked up to the girl's common room. It was empty. I sat on my bed, took a deep breath, and unfolded the note.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I will entrust Dumbledore with this note in fear of trouble coming to you. No one may know what I am to tell you, aside from two people, Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. I do not know if you and Harry will be close when you are reading this, I think you'll be in the same year at Hogwarts, but you may decide whether or not to tell him, as while you are reading this, I am likely dead and you are probably around 13 to 17 years old, capable of choosing whether you tell Harry for yourself._

_Hermione, many years ago I married a wonderful man named James Potter. I love him and he loves me, and we had a son. Harry James Potter. As I am writing this, Harry is several months old, and Voldemort is very powerful. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named knows of a certain prophecy that Dumbledore has told James and me of, and it foretells that a boy, born in mid-July of a certain year will be his only threat. There are only two such magical boys in a realistic-sized area. Harry Potter, and Neville Longbottom. Voldemort is likely to come after them. He will decide that one of them is of less threat and will mark him as the One of the prophecy, then kill him. I do not know who he may attack, but I fear that Harry may become his target, as my son is a half-blood, and in a bigoted man's eyes, less of a threat that Neville, a pureblood. Our friends Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black are the only people who know of our location, but we are in hiding to protect Harry. Also, Voldemort has made many enemies. None as powerful as him, they decided to form an organization. This organization is called the Order of the Phoenix. I do not know if it will still be around in your day. Voldemort fears this group, because they are powerful together and as a team, are very strong. The Order seeks out his Death Eater and attempts to put them behind bars, like the Aurors, though not officially government-affiliated. Because of this fear, Voldemort is targeting suspected Order members. James and I, as well as Peter and Sirius are a part of this Order. We know Voldemort has spies, and we know that we are a prime target, due to being in the Order, and because of Harry. I doubt we will be safe much longer. I am pregnant. My future child is a girl and her godfather will be Severus Snape. James has promised me that he will make up with Severus and nothing brings me more joy than this. My baby's name will be Hermione. You, reading this letter I am writing, 9 months pregnant, are my baby, Hermione. I love you. Voldemort does not yet know that I am pregnant, and you are safe for now. If harm shall come to me, Dumbledore swears he will protect you and save you. So long as Voldemort is unknowing of your heritage, you are just fine. Dumbledore will put you in a family with loving parents in the Muggle world, and when the time comes, you will go to Hogwarts and become an amazing witch, I am certain. I wish I could meet you, but if I am still alive as you are reading this, it would be too dangerous. If I am not alive as you are reading this, then that is that. Either way, Hermione, you are loved, and you are safe as Hermione Jean with a Muggle surname and a fake birth-date. Voldemort will come for you if he learns of you. You are both Harry Potter's younger sister by about 10 months, and you are the daughter of outspoken and known Order of the Phoenix members. You will be very powerful I am certain. I wish I could know you better, but I already love you, in my womb, and so does James. Dumbledore and Severus are there for you. Harry will be there for you if you tell him, I am sure. Good fortune and happy future I wish for you, my child._

_Love,_

_Lily Potter_

A tear fell onto the note, and I curled up on my bed to cry and to think. I fought with myself over whether or not to tell Harry. _Is it worth the bother? I could go on and live my life as Hermione Granger. It would be far less risky. But would it? I _am_ close to Harry. I'll probably be wanted by Voldemort for that alone. Any leverage against Harry is valuable, and as a 16 year old, female, muggle-born I'm sure he doesn't see me as a threat. I'd be naïve to think Voldemort would completely ignore me and Ron in the future_. _Ron. If I tell Harry, how can I not tell Ron? I'll have to tell him. He'll be furious if I don't tell him and I tell Harry. Harry is there for me, sister or not. I might as well tell him and Ron. _

I went back downstairs.

**So sorry I didn't update sooner! I really wanted to think this chapter through and make it a good one. **

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Harry looked at me. He looked a little shocked, scared, and sad. Understandably. He had just read a letter from his dead mother. _Our_ dead mother. How odd. I didn't know how I would tell my living parents… The Grangers. I eventually decided that they didn't need to know. Whether they knew they adopted me or they were obliviated and think I am their daughter, no harm would come to them by my not telling them about this. Harry handed my letter to Ron, who read it as well.

"Blimey! So you two, you're brother and sister? That's bloody mad!" he exclaimed in his cute, crude, blunt way.

"So, you get why you can't tell anyone, right? Not even your family?" I asked Ron.

"'Course, Mione, but you won't even tell the Grangers?"

"Why should I? They're happy having a magical, muggle-born, daughter."

Silence. I knew they wouldn't press me on the topic.

Harry smiled, "You realize, when Draco calls you a mudblood, we can't tell him you're actually a half-blood?"

I laughed lightly. "That's the last of my worries, to be honest." I remembered that Dumbledore said not to even tell Ron, yet. I gave a little grunt. "Ron, you aren't supposed to know this, by the way."

Ronald shrugged, smiled at me, and went off to talk to Seamus about something, likely not related to the large paper that was due the next day, and Harry stood up from the deep red armchair he was seated in. We hugged and laughed.

This was a feeling I had never experienced. I had been an only child my whole life, and I didn't even know how I should react or do or say or feel. All I knew was that I was happy, excited, and a bit scared. My biological parents are dead, but they aren't my real parents. My real parents were still the Grangers, who raised me to be who I am. But the letter reminded me that I was of potential interest to Voldemort, even if he never found out about me being Harry's younger sister. And if he did… My smile faded and I went to finish proofreading my essay for the 11th time, as usual.

By the next day, the initial shock of finding out about my true family had faded a tiny, tiny, tiny, _miniscule_ bit. But with my brain a little clearer, I finally remembered about the folded note, and the strange events at Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn Alley.

I was sitting in the common room doing homework for Arithmancy and Herbology when I remembered it, and I ran up to the girl's dormitory, fished it out of my trunk, and unfolded it again.

**HOGWARTSLYTHERINSB2**

It had changed. Letters had been written in, the way they had to spell **HOGWARTS**!I quickly folded it back up and stuffed it in the pocket of my blouse, running to the Great Hall, where Ron and Harry were eating an early breakfast before they went off to play in a Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match. Everyone in the school was talking about this match, even though it wasn't any kind of final before the House Cup. The rivalry between the lion and the serpent houses was strong, and I thought about how Dumbledore's goal of inter-house unity, was a tad bit far fetched. I arrived at the Great Hall and sat down between Harry and Ron, who were talking with Ginny, sitting across the table.

"Hi, Ginny. Look, it's Luna!" I said.

Luna was walking over to talk with Ginny, a perfect distraction. I discreetly pulled out the folded note and showed them the additions it had made since we last checked it, a few days ago, when I saw myself as Hermione _Granger_ and nothing else.

"Oh yeah… I kinda forgot about that with all the…" Harry looked around casually, "family stuff."

"Weren't we going to decide if we were going to tell Gin, Luna, and Neville? And 'bout DA?" Ron muttered.

We all looked over at Ginny and Luna, talking. Ginny saw us looking and raised an eyebrow at me.

I felt really guilty about not wanting to tell them, but I felt like this might be a thing best between 3 people, not 6. Then I remembered how Ron must feel right now. All of a sudden, he's the best friend of two siblings, and things have kind of changed. He might be more comfortable with more people, not feel like as much of a third-wheel.

"I think we should," I say resolutely.

Harry and Ron looked at each other.

"Same here," said Ron.

Harry nodded and motioned to Ginny and Luna.

"Hey guys, we have something to show…er…tell you… just not here. Later. How about the astronomy tower at 9 o'clock? If you see Neville, tell him to come too, cool?" Harry said.

Luna, Ron, his sister, and I showed signs of affirmation and Luna and Ginny scattered, probably to their common rooms to get their coats for the match.

A few hours later, I was sitting in the Quidditch stands with Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati. Ron was actually playing quite well and had stopped several attempts on the rings. Harry was flying around very high, looking for the snitch and vaguely watching the proceedings with the Quaffle meters below. Every time Ronald made a save, Lavender, sitting to my right screeched in some unearthly pitch and blubbered over how wonderful he was. I wanted to vomit. And no, I wasn't jealous. He didn't like her, so there was nothing to be jealous of.

Gryffindor and Slytherin were tied at 60-60. Harry seemed to finally see the snitch, and Draco, watching Harry, flew off after him. The two boys went into a steep dive and were moving so fast I felt queasy. _Oh, Harry! Be careful! _I could hardly watch. Quidditch scared me. Watching my best friends flying at extremely high speeds, with heavy Bludgers flying around trying to knock them off their thin, little brooms to the hard ground, so far below. My brother whizzed around the stadium very close to the stands, on the tail of the small, golden ball. Then I saw Ron. He had a small fleet of 3 or 4 Slytherins coming at him with the Quaffle. The ball was thrown. I looked away. The Gryffindors cheered and I looked up to see that Ron had caught the ball. He threw it very accurately to Katie, who threw it to Angelina, who dodged a couple of Beater's bats, threw the Quaffle, and scored another 10 points for Gryffindor! I cheered along with my fellow Gryffindors and squealed in a manner most unlike me, almost resembling the mandrake-acute screams of Lavender Brown, on my right. Then Harry caught the Snitch! Gryffindor had won and instantly the sounds of Collin Creevey's infamously annoying camera and people planning for the celebration in the common room filled the Gryffindor crowd.

A few hours later, around 5 o'clock, I was sitting in one of the dark red armchairs by the fireplace talking to Ginny and watching Ron out of the corner of my eye. I glanced at Harry, and he met my gaze. I looked back at Ron and he found that was… making out, way too passionately with Lavender Brown! That bitch! According to Ginny, everyone knew I liked Ron. I was NOT okay with this. Instantly my stomach sunk and my sight went red with anger. My eyes welled up. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I ran from the room to the library. I sat in a sunny window seat and cried, pitifully, watching the sunset through the mountains. My emotions were entirely illogical. I _knew_ that Lavender and Ron weren't good couple material. I _knew_ that Ron didn't like her until about a minute ago when he found out she liked him. I _knew_ it might not have meant anything at all! But playing the scene over and over in my head, I couldn't dismiss the thoughts that wondered if I lost my chance. That he would never like me anyway, I thought, and Lavender was far prettier than me. I realized that there was nothing about her to like except for her looks. If Ron liked her, that was why. And if that was why, maybe I didn't like Ron anymore. Maybe he's just like every other guy in the world, looking for a stupid, hot, blonde girlfriend to parade around on his arm and objectify like a little statue. I was Hermione Granger. Potter. Whichever. And I was perfect, for any man who wanted more than a pretty little doll. Maybe someone who'd want an intelligent, thinking girl who could act on her own and defend herself just as well as he could? If Ron didn't have the depth to appreciate me for my mind and my personality, he wasn't worth me. But inside I still ached at the thought of Lavender and Ron kissing. I thought he was more than that.

I sat in the window seat while the sun went below the horizon, as the library slowly became darker and grayer, as the magical candles and lanterns lit themselves when it got to be just too dark to see properly. I sat there just thinking and then not thinking for hours. I heard the bells that meant that it was curfew, so I snuck out of the library and to the astronomy tower to meet Neville, Luna, and Ginny.

There I waited, mulling over thoughts of the folded note, Ron, Lavender, my family, and Dumbledore's Army.

**Happy Spring, all! Review! Review! Review! I love you so much for all the lovely things you've been writing :) **

**I hope you're enjoying the story! Thanks for sticking with me! **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The astronomy tower was dark, but not in a creepy or menacing way. It was pleasant. I heard owls hoo-ing , and insects chirping, and it wasn't too windy or chilly. The moon was bright and full, reminding me of Remus. I was in a kind of daze for a while before any of my friends and Ron showed up for our conversation with Luna, Ginny, and Neville. _How can I face Ron? I hate him. I do. And he doesn't even know I do, or why, _I thought. Harry arrived first, and we sat together for a bit. Just sat there in silence deep in thought or maybe just a mindless trance. Finally Ron, Ginny, and Neville popped up from the spiral staircase. They were talking about something before they saw Harry and I, and went quiet when they noticed us. I looked out at the lake, the mountains, anywhere but Ron, who'd lost my respect, or Ginny, who'd probably make some obvious worried gesture. I was fine. We were in the tower for a purpose, and no matter whom Ronald felt like snogging, business had to be taken care of. Luna showed up a minute or so later, and I looked back to the group. Then at Harry.

"Ok, so, I guess this is about D.A. kind of," Harry said a bit uncomfortably. "Hermione, Ron, and I want to tell you guys about something we found and start up an abbreviated Dumbledore's Army sorta."

I pull the folded note from my pocket, unfolded it, and held it out in my palm.

"Any more info? Any background on this mysterious note? Did one of you write it? What's it mean?" Ginny asked.

"We followed Draco to Borgin and Burke's and had a bit of a situation in which I broke a relic of some sort, which contained this note folded in a perfect cube. We opened it up and it said HSB2. It's been writing itself since then, a bit at a time," I answered.

"I kinda seems like a place, not a thing, so we thought it might, I dunno, have some secret hidden in this place its trying to spell out for us? Maybe?" Ron said, looking at me for approval or disapproval.

I looked away and at Neville and Luna, who were silent.

"So that sounds easy enough… It will spell out somewhere over time, if you're right, and then we can look there," said Luna calmly.

"Sure. I mean, there's no reason that shouldn't work unless it breaks a trend and stops adding," I said. I didn't like when Luna explained stuff and made it sound so logical and easy. _Just because she's a Ravenclaw doesn't mean she knows everything and is smarter than everyone. Cough. Like me. Can we compare grades? _my inner bitch said.

"So D.A.'s back on, but just for us 6, here?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, that alright?" Harry answered.

"Yeah… Yeah that's great, will we meet and practice like last year?" He asked with a small smile.

"Oh I dunno, mate. We've got so many practices for Quidditch and Harry's captain so he can't skip or anything," Ron said. I gave him an irritated stare.

"What's wrong with practicing? I learned a lot from Harry last year, and I know you did too. Plus the fact that Harry's Quidditch captain means he can set practices at times we aren't meeting," I answered a bit on edge.

Everyone in the tower looked at me. Then at Ron. Silence. Ginny cleared her throat.

"So we'll meet," she said decisively.

"Good," I said and I walked out.

"Good," I heard Harry say awkwardly chipperly as I left.

* * *

The next days passed with little change in my irritation toward Ron, my disgust with Lavender, my nervousness with the situation of my appeal to Voldemort brought on by my recently discovered status as Harry's sis, and my thankfulness for a brother by my side. The note however did change day by day. Eventually the scrawled handwriting read: HOGWARTSSLYTHERINBOYS2. Hogwarts, got it. Slytherin, got it, probably somewhere in their common room. Fun. Boys, what did that mean? 2? Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and I met for our first meeting on a Tuesday night. Harry paired us up. I was with Ginny. We practiced _Impedimenta_ on each other for a bit, until we had it pretty well down. Then I passed the note with the new additions around.

"Wow. Okay, that's equally creepy and cool," Neville said quietly.

"Creepy. Definitely creepy. Do you remember what happened to me in my first year? I read some words that wrote themselves and nearly led to our world's ultimate destruction," Ginny noted.

"We remember, well, but this is different. The way it was hidden away and seems to be locating some place in Hogwarts, it can't be that bad," Harry responded.

"The Chamber of Secrets was hidden away and in Hogwarts and it was plenty bad," she fought back.

Ron and I nodded simultaneously and I looked at him. He furrowed his brow. I rolled my eyes away.

"Still, even at Borgin and Burkes this was worth a great deal, and it seems like we should at least check it out. With caution," I said.

"I agree," Harry said confidently.

"And me," added Ron.

"Yep," Luna said brightly.

Neville nodded and said, "Sounds neat."

Ginny took a deep breath and said, "Fine."

This was exciting. This would be an adventure and hunt and I couldn't wait.

Later that day Ginny ran into me in a corridor and pulled me aside.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" I answered.

"Ron and Lavender?

"She's trash and he's totally into it."

"I know," Ginny replied.

"I thought he was better than that, just liking a girl because she looks good next to you, its disgusting."

"I agree, which is why I have a proposal," she said with a sly grin.

"What?" I asked somewhat desperately, and then I realized how ridiculously revolting that was and said again, "What?" in a calmer, more bored sounding tone.

"Fred and George sent me some… stock… and I think I have a good cause to test it out." She sounded evil and it was hilarious, but I was intrigued.

"You really want to?" I asked her letting myself join her smiling mischievously.

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